@akapiratequeen - no idea if choice #1 will increase their offer, but my son did see his musician friends that graduated last year get unsolicited increased scholarship offers from other schools the closer it got to May 1st. S also informed me this morning that choice #2 could potentially be tied with choice #1 if it was more financially competitive. So, at this point, I have no idea where this is headed. :neutral:
Congrats @SnackysMom, @leejay22 and @WestOfPCH!
Question for you all - S is still waiting for initial talent $ from school #1, but nothing yet. They keep saying he should see something soon, but we want to lock in housing ASAP. Do we jeopardize any $ if we pay our deposits now? I think we can do that without accepting the Financial Aid awards (S got merit $ from the university) but hoping someone with more insight can shed light. Thanks!
This is such an emotional process! My daughter finally sent an email to her music composition contact at University of Southern Maine to decline their offer and tell them we’d decided on Hartt. By the time we’d finished composing the email, we were both in tears! University of Southern Maine is not much discussed here, but I think it has a great music program. And they have much better music scholarships than most public schools, or so it seems to us New Jersey folks, who have rather stingy public universities. It seems very flexible and student-oriented, very eager to meet all the student’s needs. The head of the music composition program seems to be such a good, genuine person, not an ounce of pretense in him. But, the roads have diverged, and my child has made her choice!
@LaurelVDW congratulations! I think a few tears are part of the process. Hartt is a great school.
We had the same experience with Ithaca — the road not taken. Great school and he would have had a great time there.
We are down to three (from six) but in reality it is down to two. I believe it is actually down to one front runner he is just having a difficult time telling people no. All of his most trusted mentors and lesson teachers are pointing him in the same direction but ultimately he has to just decide. If he would have been told a year ago that he was accepted, the professor really wants him there and he was provided enough scholarship to make this school affordable he would have said it was a no-brainer.
@tripletmama Oh ok, I thought you were further into the loan acquisition process. I have been doing some investigating and yes those Discover options look good indeed.
Those flight costs are another level. My cousin’s son went into aviation as well, only in Morocco and things are way more affordable there… Good luck with it all!!
Is your Berklee D planning to attend any of their upcoming events? I don’t suspect so as she did 5 week summer as well, right? A definite no for my S although we would both love to fly up there and hang out in Back Bay 
@lkbux64 What a nice break! And how awesome that they got to work with the UNT musicians!!
@SnackysMom That is wonderful news for your son, congratulations!! I have a question actually re. deferral for Berklee. Did he remain admitted and auditioned for scholarship $ only? Or do they have to re-apply from scratch?
@cm’sMom Yes CalArts has an excellent music program, very small and intimate and seems to focus more on the art/creative side of music vs. the commercial side. My daughter received a very generous scholarship (which I learned was their top amount awarded) but I’m sad to say we will likely need to take CalArts off the list because it is just not a financially wise option. They were very complimentary and said they really wanted her to attend, but were honest in expressing that they could not offer additional award or financial aid money due to limitations that larger, bigger name institutions might not have. While disappointing, it was greatly appreciated as we would prefer that we knew the bottom line and did not get false promises or unclear information. Did your D apply to CalArts?
@Lendlees - So strange how they can’t even give you an initial award. Do you have to commit to the school and pay the deposit before you can sign up for housing? D signed up for housing at 1 of her schools, and if she doesn’t end up there we’ll just lose the housing deposit, which is small in light of all the other expenses we’ve had along this road.
@PercussionMama - S has gotten an initial academic award from the university but still waiting on something from the music school. This school you put deposits down on both school and housing - just trying to figure out if that signifies commitment or not.
My guess is that S was recommended by the department for a scholarship but is lower priority as we don’t qualify for need-based $.
@Lendlees - Bummer that they bundle the school and housing deposit. We were able to make a small deposit on housing without committing to the bigger school deposit. Although I would love to be putting down THE deposit by now. Wish we could wrap this up. In any case, D has to bite the bullet and send out emails to the rest of the places she is declining even if she is still working on the final decision.
We have the opposite…there is an enrollment deposit but I haven’t seen anything for housing yet.
@akapiratequeen - could it be because Eastman requires everyone to stay in the dorm and there’s only one dorm?
Who is attending accepted students day in Mannes this Sunday April 14?
Don’t the Parent Plus loans have an additional 4% fee on top of the interest? I’d stay away from those loans! @glassharmonica great idea. My husband said exactly that when he saw how high the interest was. We also thought about cashing in IRA money rather than student loans.
For those who have declined schools, did you get some sort of confirmation? D declined but is still receiving emails even received her studio placement today. Making a painful decision hurt even more!
@suunysar Yes, we are still receiving email from those he declined already, including a school he decided not to audition for and let them know ahead of time. One school he received a personal email from the professor when accepted that he responded to declining the offer and never received a ‘thanks for letting us know’ type of confirmation.
One important thing to remember about ParentsPlus loans – they allow for a more flexible payment schedule than most loans. So if your income fluctuates you can defer or lessen your payments without affecting your credit.
Still not the best possible loans but they have advantages.